The water insufficiency problem of water in the Mediterranean and especially the Greek Islands is the subject of the Conference ‘Sustainable Water Management: The Contribution of stormwater‘ that will take place on Wednesday, April 28 at 18:30 at the Congress Center of the Arena (DAOS). The workshop is organized by the international non-profitl organization Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean, GWP-Med in collaboration with the Municipality of Thira and the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE), under the environmental program ‘Water Mission‘ of Coca-Cola 3E and Coca-Cola Hellas and under the scheme ‘Rainwater harvesting in the Greek Islands‘.
The aim of the conference is environmental awareness and sensitize the general public and relevant professionals (engineers, architects, artisans, manufacturers, tourism, etc.) for issues related to water, the pressures, problems and impacts, focusing on sustainable management and operations to adapt to water scarcity, particularly in the Greek Islands. Particular emphasis will be on practical rainwater collection, showing all the modern techniques, new materials, specifications in the design and implementation of a rainwater collection system and examples of these applications, taking into account the integration into the wider environment.
‘Rainwater harvesting in the Greek Islands‘, which is part of a broader environmental program ‘Water Mission‘, completed in 2009 with successful operations in the three islands of the Cyclades (Syros, Naxos, Tinos), while participating in this year Santorini, Anafi, Ios, Folegandros, Koufonissia and Naxos.
The main activities of the program are:
1. Installation of new and rehabilitation of old systems for collecting rainwater in selected public buildings and places of special interest in Naxos, Syros, Tinos, Santorini, Ios, Anafi, Folegandros and Koufonisia
2. Improvement of the skills of local artisans and technical services to local authorities through training seminars, which draw on expertise from traditional techniques and modern technology, reviving and adopting, where possible, to methods of collecting rainwater (epanexoplizontas and improving the insulation of old ydrodexamenon, etc.)
3. Sensitization of local communities about the importance of alternative, traditional and low-cost techniques
4. Conduct educational activities in selected schools in the Cyclades, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religion, by using appropriate teaching materials.
